If this wasn't a rewrite, I was trying to remain true to, I could have probably cut out the last few chapters. I mean, yeah, I added in stuff to make them relevant to the plot, but… they were just… ugh.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Warning: The story is still shounen-ai, yaoi, gay, slash, harry potter/ tom riddle Sirius/Remus

Mini warning: Things may be a bit hectic right now. I started work again so updates will be slower but are happening. I already had a talk with one manager and will be talking with two others. My writing is important and I'm not giving it up.

Chapter 15: A Bad Evening

This wasn't fair. Not that Harry's life had ever really been fair, but come on. This was pushing it. Dumbledore had to know that he didn't have any control over the shadow. Lupin would have told him about the shadow throwing Ron into a wall. Everyone else knew. Fred and George had sent him a handmade thank-you card a day after it'd happened and if they knew, Dumbledore knew.

Unless Dumbledore thought Harry had ordered the shadow to throw Ron and now believed Harry had ordered the shadow to approach the staff table. If that were the case, would he even believe Harry when he denied being involved?

"I didn—"

"Wait until we are in my office," Dumbledore said, his voice stern.

"Yes sir," he said, dropping his gaze to the floor.

'You're not in trouble.'

'Easy for you to say,' Harry said, glaring at the shadow. At least he was coming with. If he could talk to Draco, he could talk to Dumbledore and he could explain that Harry had nothing to do with his sudden decision to march to the staff table with the possible intention of harming Umbridge. Or had he been after Dumbledore? Not that it mattered, harming any of the staff was wrong and Harry didn't feel like adding to his long growing list of wrongful blame.

They turned the corner; the gargoyle leading to Dumbledore's office coming into view.

Maybe it would be okay. Dumbledore could expel him, and he could go back to number twelve, because if today was of any indication of how the rest of his school year was going to be, he would be more than glad to leave now. Maybe he could try again next year. Sirius and Remus could train him. Surely, between the two of them, Harry could pass all his classes when he came back and even get near perfect marks on all his O.W.L.S.

"The password this year is Fizzing Whizbee," Dumbledore said when they stopped in front of the gargoyle statue. "I have a feeling you'll be in my office quite a lot this year."

"Sir, I—"

"Just a moment longer," Dumbledore said. The staircase grew out of the floor, slowly twisting its way upward like a snake. Dumbledore started up the steps, Harry following along wondering how many times he'd end up on this staircase this year. His gut told him quite a lot.

At the top of the stairs was the single door leading into the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore entered the room and once Harry was inside closed the door. "All right. Go ahead," he said. The sternness in his voice had vanished, replaced with tiredness. He sat down behind his desk, his eyes watching both Harry and the shadow.

"He, It… umm." First sentence, and he'd already screwed up.

Dumbledore smiled. "He is fine. In fact, I'm sure he prefers it."

"R, right. I didn't ask him to go near the staff table," he said. Explaining this was a tad more difficult than he'd thought it would be. "I can't control it."

"I'd be surprised if you could." He leaned back in his chair, his eyes now fully on the shadow standing beside Harry. "What happened to keeping your existence to a minimum?"

"Only you and Harry could see me," he said, giving a small shrug.

Harry jumped at the sudden verbal response.

"Visible or not, had you gone after anyone, an explanation would have been sought and may have led to you," Dumbledore said, the amusement in his eyes gone. "Dolores Umbridge is here as an act of good faith—"

"For the Ministry, maybe," the shadow snorted. He'd walked away from Harry and went over to Fawkes' perch, the phoenix staring at him curiously. "And as the Defense teacher? What is she going to teach students? How to submit a complaint form to the Ministry? How to kiss Fudge's arse properly?"

"A—" The headmaster stopped himself short. Harry swore he could see the air around Dumbledore vibrating as he forced himself to remain calm. "The school year has not even officially started and yet I've had to cut the beginning of the year speech—"

"That foul toad did it first," he said as if that justified his actions.

Harry felt his cheeks grow warm at the shadow using his animal reference.

"You're already trying to attack her—"

"I owed her from the Ministry."

"You don't even know her and now we'll have to come up with a suitable explanation as to why I had to shout Harry's name out to stop you," Dumbledore said.

"I know she likes Fudge; do I really need an explanation beyond that?" He returned to Harry's side and sat down on the armrest of the chair the Gryffindor was sitting in. "We both know Fudge has gone mad."

"That is not the point," Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his temples. "I am not waging a political battle. I'm simply trying to keep my students safe and make sure they get the best education they can possibly obtain at Hogwarts."

Harry listened to the back and forth, not sure if he should even be in the room. It seemed while the headmaster hadn't sent the necklace to him; they knew each other quite well if he had to guess. Harry didn't think he'd ever heard the headmaster just come out and say what was on his mind. He tended to hide his intentions and thoughts behind a smile. Had Dumbledore been a previous owner?

His heart leapt at that. There was a chance they could at least continue talking, even if someone else had the necklace. That was a relief. Even if the shadow demanded he hand the necklace over to someone, they could still be friends, or whatever this relationship was.

The shadow narrowed his eyes, and for a second Harry thought he was going to attack Dumbledore. Instead he laughed, his form melting into mist and vanishing for the room.

"I knew I should have locked that pendant up," Dumbledore sighed, turning to Harry. "And I apologize for causing you so much unwanted attention tonight."

"It's okay… I didn't know what he was going to do or how to stop it. Is there a way to use the pendant to stop him?" For a magic object like this, surely there was a failsafe or something. The shadow was too smart not to have one.

"You could always stomp on the pendant with your foot," Dumbledore said, standing up.

"W, what?" Something told Harry stepping on the pendant would probably not stop the shadow, but it would bring about an early death for him.

"I was joking," the headmaster said.

"Oh… So, you don't know how to control it either, do you?"

"I'm afraid I am almost in the same boat you are, Harry. I do have a few… advantages," he said. "But I can only imagine how well they'll work."

"If this necklace is so dangerous, why was it even at Hogwarts? And how did it get sent to me?" This was one of the few chances Dumbledore was being open with information and he needed answers. The more he knew about the pendant, the better he could use it, maybe even control it.

Dumbledore shook his head and walked towards the office door. "I'm afraid that is my fault."

Harry made a face at that. "I thought you said you didn't send it to me."

"I did not, but the reason it was at Hogwarts is my fault." The smile that Dumbledore kept on his face to remain elusive reappeared. "One day I will learn my lesson. And I believe this was plenty of drama for the evening. Good night Harry," Dumbledore said opening the door.

"Good night professor." He stepped out onto the staircase, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with the headmaster now. He'd try another day. The door shut behind him.

The shadow took form the second the door clicked closed. 'That was close,' he chuckled and started down the stairs.

"Are you mad," Harry asked, chasing after him. "Dumbledore could have separated us!" The gargoyle looked at Harry curiously, hi s face burning. 'At least try to be careful!'

'Dumbledore wouldn't risk you going mad,' the shadow said, his eyes slanted in amusement. 'In this situation, he's powerless.'

Harry frowned at that. Dumbledore was never powerless. Even Voldemort feared Dumbledore and the power he had. There was no way the headmaster couldn't hold his own against a magical object. 'Just don't do anything stupid,' he pleaded. 'I can't do this school year without you.'

The shadow looked at him and slowed down so their paces matched. 'You won't have to. I will be with you for the rest of your life.' He took Harry's hand in his own and held it tight.

'G, good.' He wasn't sure if that was good. Knowing that this dangerous and somewhat mad shadow would be around until he died worried him, slightly. Most of him was glad to hear those words. Knowing that he intended to be with Harry until the very end was comforting. He wouldn't die alone fighting Voldemort. If he was telling the truth. Had he told the other two owners that he'd stay with them until their lives ended? He didn't want to think much about it. The thought of the shadow leaving him, even if they could still talk, was too hard to think about right now.

The halls were empty as they headed for the Gryffindor tower. Not that Harry would have noticed anyone unless they'd screamed at him. Every brain cell he had wouldn't let him move past the fact that the shadow and him were walking down the hall holding hands. He knew he should stop, because the thoughts rushing through his mind right now would lead to nothing.

But I'm already emotionally attached, he sighed. Even if the shadow was incapable of returning his feelings, the way it had kept him at peace at the Dursleys so he wouldn't do something stupid. When it had talked to him at the funeral, or the night it'd taken his candy bar in exchange for letting Harry keeping it up half the night. Those instances made Harry believe the shadow cared for him in its own way and wanted him to be happy, not simply keep him alive.

'Is something wrong?'

'No,' he said, glad that no emotions were flowing between them. He needed to get himself under control. The shadow would laugh at him for being so stupid, falling for a magical object of all things. It didn't matter that it was the only thing that had showed him any concern until he'd arrived at number twelve. It didn't matter that they often slept in the same bed or talked into the early hours of the morning. It wasn't alive. It wasn't capable of caring for Harry.

"Harry?" The shadow stopped, Harry getting held in place when he tried to keep going. "Look at me." When he didn't, the shadow grabbed his chin and forced his eyes to lock with his own. "Are you going to cry?"

"N, no," he said hoping he wasn't lying.

"You look like it." He released Harry's chin and studied him for a second. "I promised to keep you safe," he said, his voice even, and was that a hint of concern? "Dumbledore isn't angry with you."

"No, he's mad at you," Harry laughed and cursed when his voice cracked. Get it together!

'I don't have the energy to run through your thoughts right now,' he said, squeezing Harry's hand. 'So, if you don't tell me what's wrong, I won't know until morning.'

"Nothing's wrong," he said, panicked. How could he hide anything from the shadow if he was able to read his mind? He'd suspected as much, but in the end thought he'd been paranoid. That this crazy thing actually had access to his mind was worrying, not that he had anything to hide, except for this moment right now.

The shadow sighed and shook his head. 'Lying to me will get you nowhere.' He gave a gentle tug to Harry's hand, and they began walking again.

There has to be a way to hide things from him. He could feel his heartbeat speeding up as they moved closer to the tower. Maybe Hermione knew how? Draco might, but he wouldn't see him again before morning and that was too late. He'd have to risk asking Hermione in the tower. Somehow.

'No one is going to touch you in the dorm,' the shadow said.

For once, the shadow had read the situation wrong.

'I hope not,' he said. Perhaps if he played into the shadow's mistake, it wouldn't feel the need to read his mind? 'I'm not worried about the others, but Ron?'

'Yes, that useless redhead has been known to cause problems,' the shadow growled.

'Maybe I'm overthinking it…' They'd made it the Gryffindor tower and now a new problem presented itself as they stood in front of the portrait. 'I have no idea what the password is.'

'Well, that's one way they can keep you out,' the shadow laughed.

'Not helping.' He glared at the shadow and took his hand back.

'It's Mimbulus Mimbletonia.'

'How do you know that?'

'Because I'm brilliant.'

Harry rolled his eyes at that. Yes, the shadow was brilliant, but did he have to be so arrogant about it?

"I'm waiting," the Portrait of the Fat Lady said.

"Um, Mimbulus Mimbletonia?"

"Correct." The portrait swung forward, revealing the large circular hole that led into the tower. He climbed through and walked into the common room, surprised at how many people were still out and about. He spotted Fred and George first, who grinned at him.

"Harry," Fred shouted, waving at him. He finished smoothing out a piece of paper on the common room's bulletin board and started towards Harry, George close behind. "I didn't see it, what'd you do?"

"Before the term even started," George said, grinning from ear to ear. "You could have let us in on it!"

"Yeah, we'd have definitely helped," Fred said. "Well, we wouldn't have interrupted Dumbledore."

"It was kind of a last-minute decision," Harry said quietly. Not even his own decision, but he couldn't tell them that because Fred and George weren't on the "I know about the shadow's secret existence list."

"After that nasty little thing started talking, right," George asked.

"Yeah."

"Let us in on the next one," Fred said. "We never did have time to show you this summer. What with everything going on and you keeping yourself locked up your room. We have a whole arsenal of items to help," he grinned. "And hey, if anyone gives you any trouble, including Ronnitroll, just let us know."

"Ronnitroll," Harry repeated.

"Well, he's about as smart as a troll right now," George said, shrugging.

"Giving him too much credit," Fred said.

"You're right," George said, pretending to be horrified. "I'll write a letter apologizing to the trolls… think they can read?"

"Thanks guys." It was nice to know that only Ron blamed him for Mrs. Weasley's death.

"Hey, it's our job to help keep everyone at Hogwarts on their toes," Fred grinned. They both patted him hard on the shoulder and rejoined the rest of the happy Gryffindors.

'See, you aren't alone,' the shadow said.

'You're right.' He smiled watching the other Gryffindor's reuniting with friends, laughing, some talking. Perhaps the year wouldn't be as horrible as he'd thought. 'I'm going to get some sleep.'

'Probably for the best. I'd rather you be rested for the first day.'

'Yeah.' There was no telling how difficult the classes were going to be now that they were studying for O.W.L.S. He headed to the steps leading to the boy's dormitory, a few people greeting him as he walked by. Surprised, he greeted them back and continued heading up.

He entered the dorm, frowning when he saw everyone already inside. He'd hoped to get changed and into bed before anyone else so he wouldn't have to deal with them.

"Where have you been," Ron demanded. He'd already changed into his pajamas and for whatever stupid reason, the redhead had pinned his prefect badge to the outside of the curtains hanging around his bed.

He's just waiting for someone to nick that, Harry thought, rolling his eyes as he made his way to his bed. If he caught someone doing just that, he wouldn't stop them either. Might even help them.

"I asked you a question," Ron said.

Harry turned on his supposed friend and glared at him. "You know exactly where I was," he yelled. "Or did you miss Dumbledore screaming out my name during the feast?" The other three boys in the room snickered, Ron's face turning red.

"I'll be checking with Dumbledore in the morning about that," Ron muttered.

"Good, ask him," Harry said, his irritation rising. He'd thought things might be getting a little better since he'd shared a laugh with Ron at number twelve before they'd left. But no, it seemed like having an unlimited number of students backing him up in the belief that he was crazy and possibly a killer had undone all that.

"If you're lying, I'm giving you detention," Ron said. "Can't have you lying to the Gryffindor prefect."

Harry had to let out a slow breath before responding. Maybe he should ask the shadow to throw Ron out the dorm window.

"I'll happily take a detention if it means not having to listen to you," Harry spat. He pulled his pajamas out roughly and removed his robes. It wasn't like he'd even gotten in late. He was getting ready for bed two hours before lights out. He pulled his pajamas on.

"What'd you say," Ron demanded, stomping towards Harry.

Harry glared at him. He knew he wasn't making things better. If he'd just blown Ron off and ignored the verbal attacks, the idiot would still be standing by his own bed. He could only put up with so much, though. 'Can't you shut him up?'

'Really?' The shadow's voice was both surprised and excited.

'Yes.'

Ron stopped in front of Harry, leaned in, and nothing. The stunned expression that followed was the best thing Harry had seen all day. Ron opened his mouth to try to say something again, but nothing came out except air. His face turned a darker shade of red, his fist clenching at his side.

"You're going to get yourself thrown again," Harry said coolly. "And I won't stop it this time." He was done with all of it. If Ron had decided he was a murderer and wanted to make his life a living hell, Harry wasn't about to just let him. Ron's face changed from red to a grayish white. He raised a hand to his throat, his eyes narrowing at Harry.

"What'd you do to him," Neville asked, uneasily.

'Silencing charm.'

"Silencing charm," Harry replied.

"Nonverbal," Neville asked in awe.

"Whispered it," Harry muttered. He wasn't sure what a nonverbal was, but he wasn't going to let anyone think he could do it.

With no voice, Harry had no warning as Ron tackled him to the floor. Ron climbed on top of him, pulling back his fist, and hit Harry in the right eye. Harry's glass frames broke, the lens shattering. He screamed as small pieces of glass landed inside his eye. The intense burning made it impossible for him to focus on anything. He managed to remove the frames and brought his hand up to his eye, freezing when he felt hot liquid on his eyelids.

The weight on Harry's waist lifted, but it was a minor relief.

'Stop moving!' The words barely even registered in Harry's mind. He knew he wouldn't go blind, that with a bit of magic it wouldn't even be possible to tell that his eye had been shredded with the tiny pieces, but the pain. A warm breeze caressed Harry's cheek, then his entire face. The pain eased up little by little until it faded completely. 'Are you okay?'

'Y, yeah.' Hesitantly, he opened his right eye. He could see just as well as he could before. He lifted his already fixed glasses, probably courtesy of the shadow, and slipped them on, not expecting the scene before him. Ron was on his stomach with his arms behind his back, Dean sitting on them to keep him in place. Neville was holding his wand at Ron, looking particularly terrified, and Seamus was gone, the door to the dorm open.

'I would be only too happy to kill him for you,' the shadow said, turning towards Ron. 'If your dorm mates hadn't grabbed him so fast, I would have turned his skin inside out.'

'Then I would be a murderer,' Harry said, climbing to his feet. He'd known Ron was angry, knew the redhead wanted to fight him, but breaking his glasses on his face was a low blow. Even Harry wouldn't have risked getting glass in someone's eyes unless he was fighting a Death Eater and he had no other choice.

He sat down on his bed, arms wrapping around him from behind. 'I'm sorry I didn't react faster. I didn't think that thing would harm you over a silencing charm.'

'It's okay.' Harry was just glad for the hug. He needed it, bad.

Seamus came running back into the room, Professor McGonagall fast on his heels. She took one look at all of them, her nostrils flaring. "What in the world is going on here," she demanded. "Remove yourself at once, Mr. Thomas!"

Dean shrugged and climbed off Ron.

"An explanation, now," she said, looking at each one of them in turn.

"Ron wouldn't stop accusing me of killing his mother," Harry explained. "So, I used a silencing charm on him."

"And," she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And he got mad, so he hit me. He broke my glasses, and the pieces got into my eye." He could feel the blood drying on his face.

"Of all the," she shot glares at both Harry and Ron. "Both of you come with me!"

'I'm never going to get any sleep,' Harry groaned. He followed Professor McGonagall out of the room, Ron close behind.

"This is completely unacceptable behavior," Professor McGonagall said angrily as they walked down the steps. "Not even the first day of school! And you've already been called to the headmaster's office," she said, glaring at Harry. "And you, Mr. Weasley, a prefect! Attacking another student? Perhaps you don't deserve that badge at all," she yelled, turning her fierce gaze at Ron.

The two of them followed in silence as she ran down a list of all the stupid things, she'd ever seen them do, which was a lot. They'd barely scratched the beginning of that list by the time they arrived at her office. She threw the door open and moved aside for them to go in first.

There was only a single chair in front of Professor McGonagall's desk. A harsh wave of her wand had a second one appearing. She slammed the door shut, her steps threatening to put holes in the stone floor below her. "Sit," she roared at them.

The two Gryffindors sat.

"I have heard enough of this nonsense! Mr. Weasley, you especially know that your mother and Mr. Diggory did not die at the hands of Mr. Potter!"

Ron opened his mouth to yell something, but the shadow's spell was still in effect.

Scowling, Professor McGonagall pointed her wand at Ron's throat. The redhead's eyes shot open. "Now answer me!"

"He cast a silencing charm on me," Ron shouted.

"So, I noticed," McGonagall said drily. "I don't exactly blame him, considering you're going around accusing him of murder." She set her wand down on her desk, eyeing them. "You both are privy to information most of the wizarding community cannot even begin to guess at," she said, her voice calm now. "And even more surprising, you two have been friends for the last five years. What has you so certain that Mr. Potter has killed your mother?"

"Because...He…." he made a face and looked away.

"Because my blood brought back Voldemort," Harry said. In this case, he couldn't deny his fault. "If I'd tried harder to get away or never touched that stupid port key-"

"That has nothing to do with it," Ron yelled. Harry thought he saw a look of surprise in Ron's eyes. "No one can blame you for that! It was a trap! You could have died!"

"Yeah? So, Voldemort getting his powers back and your mum joining the," he stopped seeing the disapproving look on McGonagall's face. "Y'know?"

Ron scrunched his face up. "No! It's that thing you're defending, the ghost! It killed her!"

"Ghost," McGonagall asked.

"It's not a ghost," Harry whispered. "Professor Dumbledore asked me not to talk about it."

"Does this have anything to do with what happened at the feast?"

Harry nodded.

"I see.… Well. I understand your concerns, Mr. Weasley. Your mother died from the killing curse."

"But—

"And from what I understand, ghosts cannot use magic."

"Yeah, but—"

"So how did a ghost, something incapable of magic, cast the killing curse that killed your mother?" She was giving Ron a "it's too late for this crap and how stupid can you be" smiles.

"It just did!"

"I see." Her lips grew thin as she examined Ron.

'This is crazy.'

'A bit.'

'You didn't…?'

'I did not,' the shadow said, his voice firm. 'I already told you I didn't. If you'd like to keep accusing me, however, I could go find someone to kill.'

'Don't you dare!'

"Mr. Potter?"

He snapped back to attention, Professor McGonagall and Ron looking at him with worried expressions. So, Draco had been right. People noticed when he started talking to the shadow.

"Just tired," he said, hoping they wouldn't push the subject further. Not that they could prove anything.

"As no doubt we all are," she said. "Mr. Weasley, you will report to my office tomorrow after your last class for detention—"

"BUT—!"

"No buts. You're lucky I don't have your prefect badge for this." Ron went silent, his eyes filled with hatred. "And Mr. Potter. You'll be coming to my office an hour after class, for your detention."

"What did I do," Harry demanded.

"We do not fight with magic in this school. If you feel the need to do so, join the dueling club." She stood up then. "Now go back to your dorm and if I show much as a hear a single yelp, you'll both be serving detentions for a week!"

They both winced at that.

"Yes Professor," they said together. They stood up and Professor McGonagall opened the door. "Tomorrow starts your training for O.W.L.S. There is no time for this nonsense. And I'm quite disappointed in both of you, fighting when you know what's going on! See to it that this fight ends now!" She slammed the door shut when they were both out.

"School hasn't even started yet," Ron muttered.

"Yeah, I had to deal with Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall already," Harry said.

"…What did you do to make Dumbledore yell at you anyway?"

Harry frowned. He wanted Ron back on his side, or had, before the idiot had gotten glass in his eye. This fight had gone on long enough though, hadn't it? They were supposed to be friends. "Dumbledore talked to you and Hermione, right? About what you saw?" Ron nodded. "Yeah, well, it still doesn't listen."

"Your own fault then," Ron snorted. "You're keeping it around knowing how dangerous it is. That's—"

"It didn't kill your mum," Harry spat, his eyes flashing.

"You don't know that!"

"I trust him," he growled. "More than I do you right now."

They stared each other down, neither one wanting to budge. Ron did first. He shoved Harry towards the wall and stomped off down the hall.

Harry watched him go. He wasn't chasing after Ron, nor was he going to retaliate so close to McGonagall's office. 'Well, I tried.'

'I can still turn his skin inside out.'

'Please don't. No one wants to see that.'

(X)

A rustling sound was the first thing Ron noticed. Just audible enough to break into his sleep, but no one else's. When his eyes didn't open, it came again, just a hint louder this time. The redhead frowned, turning over in his bed, no doubt trying to ignore the sudden intrusion on his sleep. Well, if he wouldn't wake up the easy way….

The shadow ripped Ron's blanket off, the redhead's eyes snapping open. He lurched forward; the shadow shoving him back down with one hand.

Petrificus Totalus. He smirked as Ron's body went rigid, a look of terror frozen on his face, because at the last second, he'd realized the shadow standing over his bed. Yes, he lived to cause these moments of fear, especially when his victim was someone who'd dared to hurt Harry.

"For some reason, Harry doesn't want you dead," he chuckled. He could see the inner horror in Ron's eyes. He sat down on the bed next to Ron. "I for one, believe you should be skinned, but despite everything, he still considers you a friend." He sighed then. Harry was loyal, too loyal at times, and while he loved it when the Gryffindor showed that loyalty to him, it often did Harry more harm than good.

He smirked then, not that Ron could see his mouth, but he was sure his eyes portrayed it. "I assure you killing someone is within my means, but I did not kill your mother, nor did I have anything to do with it." He held his hand inches from Ron's throat, marveling at the second wave of fear coming off the fool. "You will stop spreading baseless rumors and should you hurt Harry again, I will have no choice, but to arrange an "accident", do you understand?" He undid the jinx around his head and neck muscles so the teen could nod. "Good." He stood up, his eyes never leaving Ron's. "Just keep in mind, the only reason I am not causing you any bodily harm, is because Harry doesn't want you hurt."

Finite Incantatum

(X)

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

Harry jolted from his sleep, confusion and fear sweeping over him. He scrambled to grab his glasses from his bedside cabinet.

"What's going on," Seamus shouted.

"Lumos!" Neville's face appeared; his wand held up.

"It's only 5 a.m.," Dean groaned.

'What did you do,' Harry asked, irritated. It was too early for this.

'He's alive,' the shadow said innocently.

"Ugh." He could tell Ron was "still alive" given all the screaming coming from his bed. That didn't mean he was "okay", or Harry didn't even know what at this point.

Ron seemed to have run out of breath as the other four approached him. He looked like he'd run a marathon and lost. He was gasping, his face red and he seemed to have kicked his blanket off the bed.

"Ron," Neville asked.

Ron's head snapped towards Neville, the Gryffindor taking a step back.

"You think he's possessed," Dean asked.

"Is that a thing," Harry asked, frowning. Obviously, there was the Imperius Curse, but he was pretty sure there wasn't anyone hiding nearby inside Hogwarts casting Unforgivables on students. Probably.

"I don't know," he said. "You got a better explanation?"

Harry shook his head. He wanted to see the extent of damage the shadow had caused, but talking to Ron would just cause more fighting and he was tired of fighting. What exactly could he say, anyway? Sorry, I really don't care as long as you're not dead. I chose the necklace over you because you've been an arse all summer.

The bad thing was, he knew he shouldn't feel that way, but he did. Between the accusations and the fight, though, he doubted Ron had intentionally got glass into his eye. The yelling, the distrust before the shadow or the necklace had become a factor.

He watched the other three from the side of his bed fuss over Ron, the redhead only grunting from time to time.

'Does he know it was you?'

'Oh yes,' the shadow said, sounding pleased.

Harry sighed, closing his eyes. It seemed Dumbledore was right. He would be spending a lot of time in his office this year. Just what I needed. It wouldn't matter if he had friends at this point, because any free time he got was going to go straight to the headmaster or detention, he could just feel it.

(TBC)

Okay. Done. Finally. I'm off to do something else now.